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Kou Uraki
"This goddamn Zaku maneuvers like a piece of shit!" Kou Uraki is a test pilot for the Gundam Development Project launched by Anaheim Electronics, an effort to produce a new series of Gundams (and a competitor to the Federation's own Gundam Mk. II and Strike MS platform). However, his career as a test pilot came to an end when a nuclear weapon-equipped unit, the RX-78GP02A Gundam Physalis, was stolen by a former Zeon ace, the 'Nightmare of Solomon', Anavel Gato, over a year ago. Along with the crew of the battleship originally carrying the prototypes, the Pegasus-class 'Albion', Kou gave chase in the other Gundam unit, the RX-78GP01 Zephyranthes. A serious young man with an interest in mechanics and a deep-seated loathing of carrots, he is far from what you would expect of a Gundam pilot; he is no Newtype, nor a Coordinator, and has no small amount of doubt about his own abilities. Despite this, he is determined to recover the GP02 from Gato, finding in his Zeon rival the catalyst to grow into a real combat pilot. Background Information Born about nineteen years ago, Kou Uraki grew up on Earth, in Japan; he had as normal of a childhood as anyone in the war torn modern world can, and was largely sheltered from the true horrors that occurred every day. From a young age, Kou showed a natural aptitude and interest in electronics and machinery, but his real dream was to become a pilot. As soon as he was able, Kou joined the Federation forces, and during his academy days showed great talent for piloting; this, combined with his temperament, got Uraki flagged for the EFA's test pilot program, rather than a frontline combat unit. After graduation, the serious Kou was partnered at Torrington Base in Australia with the more easygoing, would-be womanising Chuck Keith, and the two inexperienced test pilots were placed under the command of Lieutenant South Burning, a veteran mobile suit pilot. Though Kou and Chuck spent most of their time piloting Zaku II F2s as 'aggressor' units in field tests, they were nevertheless part of Anaheim Electronics' GUndam Development Project, helping to test out new systems and equipment for the project's suits, and both young officers were present when the Pegasus-class Albion arrived at Torrington along with two of the GDP prototypes, the RX-78GP01 Zephyranthes, and the RX-78GP02A Physalis. As such, they were both present when Anavel Gato managed to steal the Physalis from under the Federation's noses. This was Kou's first encounter with the Nightmare of Solomon, as he met the Zeon ace in the disguise of a Federation officer. Acting more on gut instinct than any sort of rational planning, Kou subsequently commandeered the Zephyranthes in order to pursue the other Gundam, and was joined by the other mobile suits at Torrington; though Gato managed to escape, Kou survived direct one on one combat with the Nightmare of Solomon, a remarkable feat in and of itself. The Albion, along with some of the Anaheim Electronics staff and Torrington Base pilots, set off in pursuit of Anavel Gato and the stolen Gundam, and were joined by the remaining members of South Burning's old unit, the 'Immortal' 04th MS Team. Though tensions were high aboard the Albion, Kou strove to prove himself the best pilot for the Zephyranthes, facing both the opposition of Lieutenant Bernard Monsha, who believed he should handle the machine, and the reluctance of Nina Purpleton, the Anaheim Electronics engineer in charge of GP01 and GP02. Ultimately, however, Kou proved himself - at least in the interim - to be capable of handling the Gundam, although the operation to prevent Anavel Gato from returning to space failed. After that, Kou and the crew of the Albion continued to pursue the Nightmare of Solomon, in the hopes of retrieving the stolen Gundam and foiling whatever nefarious plans the remnants of Zeon have for the suit and its nuclear payload. Kou has seen action in a few 'unusual' situations over the course of this mission, including facing off with the apparent Red Comet during an attempt to liberate Torrington Base from Crusader control, and a disastrous battle with Neo Zeon regent Haman Karn during the seizure of La Vie En Rose; the latter also saw the disappearance of Nina Purpleton, as much of Anaheim Electronics' personnel were forced underground by the actions of the newly formed A-LAWS task force. Kou's inadvertent involvement in the defense of Tokyo-3 from an Angel attack resulted in the near total destruction of the GP01. Though he was able to salvage the machine, simply 'repairing' it was out of the question; fortunately, plans for a refit and upgrade of the Gundam were leaked to the EFA by a former Anaheim source, and Kou's mobile suit was reborn as the RX-78GP01Fb Gundam Zephyranthes Full Vernian. Personality Traits Serious and resolute, Ensign Kou Uraki often ends up playing the 'straight man' role to his more boisterous squadmates, particularly Bernard Monsha and Chuck Keith. Though he's not exactly humourless, Kou does tend to focus completely on what he's doing, and when he gets like that, he has little interest in distractions like 'having fun'; of course, some might argue that obsessively figuring out how a given mobile suit works IS fun, to him. This seriousness and tenacity can alienate others from Kou, but it helps to make him a fast learner, as well as an implacable opponent, which is part of the reason why he volunteered for the mission to track down Anavel Gato and the stolen GP02. Kou hates to leave anything unfinished, and once he gets an idea in his head or a goal in mind, he keeps chipping away at it until it's done, whatever the obstacles in his path. Kou is also quite intelligent, with a high aptitude for technical and engineering work; though he lacks the pure genius of Amuro Ray, Camille Bidan or Paptimus Scirocco, he has a good knowledge base and a natural 'feel' for how machines do what they do, particularly mecha. Able to discern at first glance how certain machines do what they do, Kou's insight is a large part of what lends him his skill as a test pilot, and later a combat pilot after he takes command of the Zephyranthes. Because he was picked so early in his career to become a test pilot, Kou lacks in actual combat experience, though this has changed somewhat since the theft of GP02. Still, although he's had at least one direct confrontation with the Nightmare of Solomon, and has seen further 'real' action since, Kou believes on a certain level that he isn't a 'real combat pilot', and it gives him a degree of self-doubt that can often be detrimental to his performance. It can also drive him to try to prove himself in foolish ways, such as insisting on using the GP01 Zephyranthes when it hasn't been retuned for a given environment, or rising to the bait of his often abrasive teammate and supposed rival, Lieutenant Bernard Monsha. He can be proud, despite his lack of confidence, and direct attacks on his ability by people whose opinions are important to him (such as Nina Purpleton, the Anaheim Electronics engineer with whom he fell in love almost instantaneously) can reinforce his self-doubts to dangerous levels. Also, it's important to note that Kou hates carrots to a startling, pathological degree. It's pretty much completely unreasonable. Talents & Abilities Talents & Abilities go here. Relations Friendship Trust Affinity Ambivalence Caution Distrust Contempt Logs |ordermethod = title |notcategory = cutscenes |suppresserrors = yes }} Category:Mobile Suit Gundam 0083 Category:Alpha Numbers